Outboard motor support device

ABSTRACT

An outboard motor support device for securing an outboard motor to a transom of a boat which comprises a tie down bracket, a support, and a tie down strap. The tie down bracket being secured to the transom of the boat while the support is rotatably mounted to the motor such that when the motor is in an up position, the support can rotate about its mounting point to contact and support the motor. The tie down strap then passes behind the motor and is secured to the tie down bracket. This secures the motor between the support and the tie down strap providing additional support.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to supporting an outboard motor when it ismounted to a boat and placed in an up position. More particularly, itpertains to an outboard motor support device.

Fishing is one of the most popular recreational activities in NorthAmerica. There are over 30 million anglers in the United States.

Over the past 25 years, there have been significant advances in fishingtechniques and equipment. Magazines devoted to fishing in general, andeven to specific species of fish have become popular and successful.Television programs about fishing and demonstrating fishing techniquesand equipment are seen weekly. Sports and outdoor shows and expositionstypically feature seminars by leading professional anglers; and videotapes demonstrating fishing techniques are proved to be popular.

Professional tournament fishing has steadily grown in popularity overthe past two decades. Professional bass tournaments featuring largepurses are conducted throughout the United States and are the subject ofregular television programs. More recently, professional walleyetournaments have seen a similar rise in popularity.

Tournament fishing has led to many improvements in fishing techniquesand technology as the professional anglers are constantly seeking toobtain a winning edge over competitors. In tournament walleye fishing,there has been a continuing trend toward larger boats with largeroutboard motors. Where a 16 foot boat with a 40 or 50 horsepowertiller-controlled outboard motor was commonplace 10 years ago,tournament walleye fishing boats now are typically about 18 to 20 feetin length with an outboard motor in the range of 150 to 225 horsepower.These large boats and motors are needed to travel long distances onlarge bodies of water, since most professional walleye tournaments playson large bodies of water in the Northern United States or Canada, suchas the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, LakeWinnebago in Wisconsin, and Mille Lacs and Lake of the Woods inMinnesota.

A tournament walleye fishing boat is typically equipped with two othermotors in addition to the main outboard motor: a bow mounted electrictrolling motor and an auxiliary or “kicker” outboard motor mounted onthe transom alongside the main outboard.

The electric trolling motor is used for precise boat positioning andmovement. The electric trolling motor is quiet, which can be anadvantage in shallow water. On the other hand, electric trolling motorshave less thrust than either the main outboard or the kicker.

The kicker motor has become popular as trolling has become a widely usedand very effective way of catching walleyes. The kicker motor isgenerally less than 20 horsepower, with 9.9 horsepower being the mostcommon outboard motor used as a kicker. These smaller outboard motorswere originally designed for smaller fishing boats, rather than as anauxiliary motor for a much larger boat.

The kicker motor can be used in a forward direction to troll at preciseslow speeds (typically less than 3 miles per hour and in some cases lessthan 1 mile per hour). The kicker motor can also be used to “backtroll”, a technique in which the kicker motor is driven in reverse. Thisresults in the boat moving very slowly in a reverse direction, or simplyholding its place against current or waves in order to allow the anglerto maintain a position over a particular underwater structure.

The increasing use of kicker motors, however, has lead to problems. Whenthe boat is being driven at high speed from one location to another, thekicker motor must be tilted in its up position so that the lower unit ofthe kicker motor is out of the water. This avoids damage to the kickermotor, and also prevents the associated drag which would otherwiseoccur. However, when the boat is traveling at higher speeds, thepounding and bouncing of the boat across the water creates a stress onthe bracket of the kicker motor, which can cause the bracket to break.This is especially true when the boat is running through swells. As theboat comes down hard from the top of a swell, the kicker motor's lowerunit is snapped up pointing almost straight out from the transom of theboat. Then, when the boat bottoms out, the lower unit smashes downplacing an extraordinary amount of force or stress on the bracket. Theseforces and stresses have been known to break the bracket which securesthe kicker motor to the transom, and in some cases they have even brokena portion of the transom off of the boat where the bracket of the kickeris secured.

Designers have attempted to re-engineer the bracket to increase itsstrength. However, these efforts have been unsuccessful in overcomingthe stresses associated with boats running through swells. Thus, thereexists no known device to adequately support and secure a kicker motorin an up position while traveling over water at higher speeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a device and method to support and secure an outboardmotor to a transom of a boat. The device comprises a tie down bracket, asupport and a tie down strap. The tie down bracket is secured to thetransom of the boat while the support is rotatably mounted to the motor.The support is mounted such that when the motor is in an up position thesupport can rotate about its mounting point to contact and support themotor. The tie down strap is then passed behind the motor and is securedto the tie down bracket. The motor is then secured in the up positionbetween the support and the tie down strap which displaces a portion ofthe stress that would otherwise be placed on the mounting bracket of themotor and prevents the generation of forces or stresses by preventingmovement of the motor while the boat is traveling at higher speeds orthrough semi-rough water from another power source.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a boat utilizing an outboard motor supportdevice to secure and support an auxiliary motor.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective starboard quarter view of a boat using apreferred embodiment of the invention with an outboard motor in an upposition.

FIG. 4 is a perspective starboard quarter view of a boat having anoutboard motor which is supported and secured in the up position by apreferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, a top view of boat 10 is shown. Boat 10 has a bow 12, astarboard side 14, a port side 16, a starboard quarter 18 and a portquarter 20. The boat 10 is powered by main outboard motor 22 andincludes auxiliary outboard or “kicker” motor 24. The main outboardmotor 22 and the kicker motor 24 are secured to a transom 26 of the boat10. Electric trolling motor 28 is mounted on bow 12.

In a preferred embodiment, boat 10 includes a console 30, steering wheel31, throttle control 32, and seat 33. Steering wheel 31 and throttlecontrol 32 control the operation of main outboard motor 22 and maycontrol the operation of kicker motor 24 as well. However, if kickermotor 24 is not controlled from console 30, then tiller 34 on the kickermotor 24 controls its operation.

Main outboard motor 22 provides the power when the boat 10 must travelat high rates of speed. This enables the boat 10 to travel longdistances across a body of water very quickly. However, the lowest speedproduced by the main outboard motor 22 can be faster than what is neededfor trolling.

Trolling typically requires speed of less than three miles per hour andoften involves speeds of one mile per hour or less. In some situations,“back trolling” (driving boat 10 in reverse) is used to achieve evenslower trolling speeds or to hold the boat 10 in a precise locationagainst a current or the wind. Both bow-mounted electric trolling motor28 and transom-mounted kicker motor 24 provide options for trolling andprecision boat control.

Main outboard motor 22 is secured to the center of the transom 26 tomaximize the aerodynamics and balance of boat 10 while traveling athigher speeds. This maximizes the fuel efficiency of outboard motor 22as well as the speed and control of the boat 10. Because kicker motor 24is used for precise slow speed control, it is not as important that theaerodynamics of boat 10 are maximized when kicker motor 24 is poweringboat 10. Kicker motor 24 is therefore mounted to transom 26 along sidemain outboard motor 22.

When main outboard motor 22 is used to power the boat 10, kicker motor24 most be placed in an up position. Kicker motor 24 is put in an upposition by tilting cowling 36 of the kicker motor 24 forward, causingpropeller 38 and skeg 40 to raise out of the water. Kicker motor 24 israised to an up position during operation of main outboard motor 22 toprevent damage to the auxiliary motor 24 and avoid its interference withthe operation of main outboard motor 22. However, with kicker motor 24in an up position and main outboard motor 22 powering boat 10, the upand down motion of boat 10 creates stresses and forces on the mountingbracket of kicker motor 24 and transom 26 to which it is secured. Thisis especially the case when boat 10 travels at higher speeds or throughrough water or swells. To avoid generating these forces and stresses,outboard motor support device 50 of the present invention is used tosupport and secure kicker motor 24 in an up position.

In FIG. 2, a preferred embodiment of the components comprising outboardmotor support device 50 are shown. Outboard motor support device 50includes a tie down bracket 52 (which is mounted to the transom 26),support 54 (which is rotatably mounted to the auxiliary motor 24), andtie down strap 56 (which passes around the auxiliary motor 24 and issecured to tie down bracket 52 such that kicker motor 24 is supportedand secured in an up position between support 54 and tie down strap 56).

In a preferred embodiment, tie down bracket 52 is formed by base plate58 from which a pair of opposed facing tabs 60 extend. Baseplate 58includes a pair of mounting holes 61, and tabs 60 include aligned hole62.

The support 54 includes cradle 64, V-frame 66, cross-bar 68, a pair ofhandles 70, lanyard 72 and a pair of sleeves 74. Cradle 64 is secured tothe apex of V-frame 66. Cross-bar 68 is placed across V-frame 66 to addstructural support to support 54. Cross-bar 68 extends beyond V-frame 66to create handles 70 for support 54, lanyard 72 has loops located ateach end that slip over sleeves 74 to secure lanyard 72 to the legs ofV-frame 66 between cross-bar 68 and sleeves 74. Sleeves 74 are locatedat the open end of V-frame 66 and are used for mounting support 54 tokicker motor 24 by receiving a pin or bolt.

Tie down strap 56 includes a pair of belts 76 that are secured to eachother at one end by buckle 78 and have hooks 80 at their free ends.

In FIG. 3, kicker motor 24 is shown mounted to transom 26 at starboardquarter 18 of boat 10. Kicker motor 24 is shown in an up position withcowling 36 tilted forward raising propeller 38 and skeg 40. Outboardmotor support device 50 is also shown as it exists prior to supportingand securing the auxiliary motor 24.

In a preferred embodiment, tie down bracket 42 is secured to transom 26of boat 10. Base plate 58 abuts transom 26 such that the pair of opposedfacing tabs 60 extend out from transom 26. Base plate 58 is permanentlysecured to transom 26 by bolts that pass through mounting holes 61.

Support 54 is pivotally secured by pin 82, which passes through the pairof sleeves 74 to trim adjustment rack 84 of kicker motor 24. Support 54then hangs from trim adjustment rack 84 and can rotate about pin 82.Lanyard 72 is threaded through drive shaft housing 86 of kicker motor 24before the ends of lanyard 72 are secured to the legs of V-frame 66.This connects support 54 to kicker motor 24 so that as kicker motor 24is raised to an up position, lanyard 72 raises support 54 as well. Thepair of handles 70 can then be used to raise support 54 to its positionof supporting and securing auxiliary motor 24.

When kicker motor 24 is in a down position for operation, support 54 ispivoted down to a position between transom 26 of boat 10 and drive shafthousing 86 of kicker motor 24. The length of support 54 is such thatwhen kicker motor 24 is in a down position, support 54 does not extendinto skeg 40 area of kicker motor 24, but is of sufficient length tocontact and support drive shaft housing 86 of kicker motor 24 when it isin an up position.

Tie down strap 56 is shown in FIG. 3 with straps 76 secured to eachother by buckle 78. The length of tie down strap 56 can be adjusteddepending upon where buckle 78 secures straps 76 together. When kickermotor 24 is supported and secured by outboard motor support device 50,tie down strap 56 is secured to tie down bracket 52. Specifically, thisis accomplished by hooks 80 being placed in holes 62 of tabs 60.

In FIG. 4, outboard motor support device 50 is shown supporting andsecuring kicker motor 24 which is in an up position. To support andsecure kicker motor 24, support 54 is upwardly rotated so that cradle 64receives and contacts drive shaft housing 86 of kicker motor 24. Oncesupport 54 is in place to support and secure kicker motor 24, tie downstrap 56 is then passed behind drive shaft housing 86 and is secured onboth sides of kicker motor 24 to tie down bracket 52. Again, tie downstrap 56 is secured to tie down bracket 52 by hooks 80 passing throughholes 62 of the pair of tabs 60. With tie down strap 56 secured to tiedown bracket 52, the length of tie down strap 56 is then adjusted tosecure kicker motor 24 between cradle 64 of support 54 and tie downstrap 56.

In a preferred embodiment, tie down strap 56 passes beneath handles 70as shown in FIG. 4. This helps cinch kicker motor 24 between tie downstrap 56 and cradle 64 and aids in maintaining the proper positioning ofsupport 54 in relation to kicker motor 24.

Outboard motor support device 50 does not allow kicker motor 24 tobounce up and down or tilt further forward and slam down to its upposition when boat 10 travels at a high rate of speed or through roughwaters or swells. Rather, kicker motor 24 is maintained in an upposition which prevents the generation of the stresses and forcesassociated with kicker motor 24 bouncing up and down and thus avoidsdamage to either mounting bracket of kicker motor 24 or to transom 26 orboat 10.

Outboard motor support device 50 is simple in construction and easy toinstall. Most importantly, it is easy and quick to use.

Although the present invention has been described with reference topreferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. For example, the support could have adifferent configuration than a V-frame or be mounted to a differentlocation on the motor or the boat. Additionally, the tie down strapcould be secured to the tie down bracket with another means, or only oneend of the strap could be secured to the tie down bracket with the beltpassing through a ring located at the other end of the belt to create aloop within which the motor would be captured.

1. An outboard motor support device for securing an outboard motor to atransom of a boat, the device comprising: a tie down bracket placedbetween a trim adjustment rack of the motor and the transom of the boat;a support rotatably mounted with respect to the motor such that when themotor is in an up position the support can rotate about its mountingpoint to contact and support the motor; and a tie down strap whichpasses behind the motor and is secured to the tie down bracket.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the tie down bracket has a base plate whichis secured adjacent to the transom by compression directed from the trimadjustment rack toward the transom and a pair of tabs that extendperpendicular to the base plate with the pair of tabs each having ahole.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the tie down strap is adjustablein length and has a pair of ends that are secured to the tie downbracket on opposite sides of the motor.
 4. The tie down strap device ofclaim 3, wherein a hook is secured at each end of the tie down strap forsecuring the tie down strap to the tie down bracket through the holes onthe pair of tabs.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the support has acradle which receives and secures the drive shaft housing of the motor.6. The device of claim 5, wherein the support comprises a V-frame with across bar such that the opening of the V-frame mounts to the trimadjustment rack of the motor.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein thecross bar extends beyond the V-frame to form a pair of handles on eitherside of the V-frame.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein a lanyard isconnected between the motor and the support to raise the support whenthe motor is raised to an up position.
 9. The device of claim 1, whereinthe support is rotatably mounted such that the support is positionedbetween the motor and the transom when the motor is in a down position.10. The device of claim 9, and further including: means connectedbetween the support and the motor for rotating the support upward whenthe motor is tilted from the down position to the up position.
 11. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the support includes a handle.
 12. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the tie down bracket has a base plate whichis mounted to the transom by bolts which mount the motor to the transomby passing through the trim adjustment rack of the motor and the baseplate of the tie down bracket, the tie down bracket also including apair of tabs that extend perpendicular to the base plate with the pairof tabs each having a hole.
 13. An outboard motor support device forsecuring an outboard motor to a transom of a boat, the devicecomprising: a tie down bracket having a base which is secured to thetransom and a first and a second tab which extend from the baseopposedly facing each other, wherein the first and the second tabs eachhave a hole; a support formed in a V-frame having a cross bar and acradle, wherein the opening of the V-frame is mounted in relation to themotor such that when the motor is in an up position the support canrotate about its mounting point and the cradle located at the apex ofthe V-frame receives and supports the motor along the drive shafthousing of the motor; and a tie down strap of adjustable length having apair of hooks secured to its ends, wherein one of the hooks is securedin each one of the holes in the tabs and the tie down strap passesbehind the drive shaft housing of the motor.
 14. The device of claim 13,wherein the cross bar extends beyond the V-frame to form a pair ofhandles for the support on either side of the V-frame.
 15. The device ofclaim 14, wherein the tie down strap passes beneath the handles of thesupport.
 16. The device of claim 13, wherein a lanyard cable isconnected between the motor and the support to raise the support whenthe motor is tilted to an up position.
 17. A method for securing a motorto a transom of a boat, the method comprising: sliding a tie downbracket of an outboard motor support device between a transom of theboat and a trim adjustment rack of the motor; mounting the motor to thetransom of the boat which compresses and secures the tie down bracketbetween the trim adjustment rack of the motor and the transom of theboat; tilting the motor to an up position; rotating a support of themotor support device which has a frame pivotally mounted with respect tothe motor and which has a cradle, such that the cradle receives andsupports the motor along a drive shaft housing of the motor; andsecuring a tie down strap of the motor support device to the tie downbracket such that the tie down strap passes behind the drive shafthousing of the motor and secures the motor in place between the cradleof the support and the tie down strap.
 18. An outboard motor supportdevice for securing an outboard motor to a transom of a boat, the devicecomprising: a tie down bracket; a support having a V-frame with a cradleat its apex which is rotatably mounted with respect to the motor suchthat when the motor is in an up position the support can rotate aboutits mounting point to contact and support the motor in the cradle; and atie down strap which passes behind the motor and is secured to the tiedown bracket.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the tie down brackethas a base plate which is secured between the transom of the boat and atrim adjustment rack of the motor, the tie down bracket furtherincluding a pair of tabs that extend perpendicular to the base platewith the pair of tabs each having a hole.
 20. The device of claim 18,wherein the tie down strap is adjustable in length and has a pair ofends that are secured to the tie down bracket on opposite sides of themotor.
 21. The tie down strap device of claim 20, wherein a hook issecured at each end of the tie down strap for securing the tie downstrap to the tie down bracket.
 22. The device of claim 18, wherein thecradle receives and secures the motor along a drive shaft housing of themotor.
 23. The device of claim 22, wherein the V-frame opening of thesupport mounts to a trim adjustment rack of the motor.
 24. The device ofclaim 22, wherein the V-frame has a cross bar which extends beyond theV-frame to form a pair of handles on either side of the V-frame.
 25. Thedevice of claim 18, wherein a lanyard is connected between the motor andthe support to raise the support when the motor is raised to an upposition.
 26. The device of claim 18, wherein the support is rotatablymounted such that the support is positioned between the motor and thetransom when the motor is in a down position and the axis plane ofrotation for the support is along a plane parallel to the length of theboat.
 27. The device of claim 26, and further including: means connectedbetween the support and the motor for rotating the support upward whenthe motor is tilted from the down position to the up position.
 28. Thedevice of claim 27 wherein the support includes a handle.
 29. Anoutboard motor support device for securing an outboard motor to atransom of a boat, the device comprising: a tie down bracket; a v-shapesupport with a cradle at an upper end and having a lower end rotatablymounted with respect to the motor at a position above a bottom edge ofthe transom such that when the motor is in an up position the supportcan rotate about its mounting point to contact and support the motor andwhen the motor is in a down position the support is positioned betweenthe motor and the transom; and a tie down element which passes behindthe motor and is secured to the tie down bracket when the motor is inthe up position to hold the motor in contact with the support.
 30. Thedevice of claim 29 wherein a hook is secured at each end of the tie downelement for securing the tie down element to the tie down bracketthrough holes at opposite ends of the tie down bracket.
 31. The deviceof claim 29 wherein the support has a cradle which receives and securesa drive shaft housing of the motor.
 32. The device of claim 31 whereinthe support has an first end and a second end, wherein the cradle islocated at the first end, and wherein the support is rotatably mountedat its second end.
 33. The device of claim 29, and further including:means connected between the support and the motor for rotating thesupport upward when the motor is tilted from the down position to the upposition.
 34. An outboard motor support device for securing an outboardmotor to a transom of a boat, the device comprising: a rigid tie downmember; a v-shape support with a cradle at an upper end and having alower end rotatably mounted about a horizontal pivot axis which isgenerally parallel to the transom and located above a bottom edge of thetransom such that when the motor is in an up position the support canrotate about the pivot axis to contact and support the motor in thecradle and when the motor is in a down position the support ispositioned between the motor and the transom; and a flexible tie downelement connectable to opposite ends of the tie down member which passesbehind the motor to hold the motor in contact with the cradle when themotor is in its up position.
 35. The device of claim 34 wherein thecradle receives and secures the motor along a drive shaft housing of themotor.
 36. The device of claim 34 wherein a lanyard is connected betweenthe motor and the support to move the support to a position forcontacting and supporting the motor when the motor is raised to an upposition.
 37. An outboard motor support device for securing an outboardmotor to a transom of a boat, the device comprising: a tie down brackethaving holes at opposite ends; a v-shape support having a cradle at anupper end, wherein a lower end of the support is mounted for pivotalmovement about an axis located above a bottom edge of the transom suchthat when the motor is in an up position the support can rotate aboutits mounting point to a first position at which the cradle receives andsupports the motor along a drive shaft housing of the motor and when themotor is in a down position the support is in second position betweenthe motor and the transom; and a tie down element having a pair of hookssecured to its ends, wherein each one of the hooks is secured in one ofthe holes in the tie down bracket and the tie down element passes behindthe drive shaft housing of the motor to hold the drive shaft housing incontact with the cradle when the motor is in the up position.
 38. Thedevice of claim 37 wherein a lanyard is connected between the motor andthe support to pivot the support when the motor is tilted to an upposition.
 39. An outboard motor support device for securing an outboardmotor to a transom of a boat, the device comprising: a rigid tie downmember; a v-shape support rotatably mounted at a lower end and having acradle at an upper end, the support being rotatable about a pivotal axislocated above a bottom edge of the transom so that when the motor is inan up position the support can rotate about its lower end so that thecradle receives and supports the motor along a drive shaft housing ofthe motor and when the motor is in a down position the support ispositioned between the motor and the transom; and a flexible tie downelement connectable to the rigid tie down member, which passes behindthe motor for securing the drive shaft housing in place against thecradle when the motor is in an up position.
 40. An outboard motorsupport device for securing an outboard motor to a transom of a boat,the device comprising: a rigid tie down member; a v-shape supportrotatably mounted at a lower end and having a cradle at an upper end,the support being rotatable about a pivotal axis located above a bottomedge of the transom so that when the motor is in an up position thesupport can rotate about its lower end so that the cradle receives andsupports the motor along a drive shaft housing of the motor and when themotor is in a down position the support is positioned between the motorand the transom; a flexible tie down element connectable to the rigidtie down member, which passes behind the motor for securing the driveshaft housing in place against the cradle when the motor is in an upposition; and means connected between the support and the motor forrotating the support upward when the motor is tilted from the downposition to the up position.